Ed Orgeron to Northwestern Football ? Sounds strange right? Maybe not.
On Monday, Northwestern University fired its long time football coach and alumni, Pat Fitzgerald. This followed a brief suspension after an alleged hazing scandal emerged from the school’s football program. During his 17 years at the school, Fitzgerald had three 10-win seasons and two 9-win seasons at a school that has been notoriously bad at football. In fact, as recently as 2020 he had the Wildcats in the Big 10 Championship game. That never happens!
School President Michael Schill promoted defensive coordinator David Braun to acting head coach. It was the only move he could make because he just arrived in Evanston a few months ago and would be the least likely coach to have been part of the hazing culture at Northwestern. It is assumed he will be named the interim head coach soon. After all, Big 10 Media Days are less than two weeks away.
WHAT?!
There are some that would like Northwestern to look outside the walls of its program and hire a “big-name” coach for the program. And, Wednesday, a big name coach let it be known he is interested in taking over the Wildcats football team: Former LSU coach Ed Orgeron!
Orgeron famously led Joe Burrow and LSU to an undefeated season and a national championship in 2019. Two .500 seasons later he was fired and hasn’t coached since.
He’s 61 years old and seems like he wants to coach some more. The question is: Why at Northwestern? And, is it a good fit for Northwestern?
Ed Orgeron to Northwestern – PROS AND CONS!
Here are some pro arguments:
Orgeron is a household name. He can coach. And he is a great recruiter. We all saw his recruiting skills on display when he recruited Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side,” right?
Some con arguments:
Northwestern just fired a coach for allegedly looking the other way during a hazing scandal. Orgeron was once accused of looking the other way when one of his players was accused of sexual assault. Also, Northwestern is an academic school. It’s sort of the Harvard of the Big 10. Orgeron doesn’t seem like a coach who’s first priority is the classroom…for better or worse. Also, while at LSU, there were stories of Orgeron’s personal life spilling over to practice, although many players refute that.
So, do you still think; Ed Orgeron to Northwestern is crazy? We are just a month and a half from the college football season and it’s already promising to be one of the most interesting yet!
–Craig Shemon
ESPN Southwest Florida
